Scarlet Fever
by LazyPerfectionist17
Summary: Lisbon and Van Pelt share a moment in the hospital, post Strawberries and Cream.
1. Chapter 1

**Scarlet Fever:**** Lisbon and Van Pelt share a moment in the hospital, post Strawberries and Cream. **

**This fic was a collaborative effort between myself and Little Miss Erudite. She wrote the first chapter, and I wrote the second. It was written on request of BlueEyedMentalistFan. We hope you, and anyone else who reads it, enjoys it :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mentalist, it's characters, or anything to do with it. If I did, it would say my name instead of Bruno Heller's. **

Grace perched on the side of the hospital bed, staring at the pale, supposedly calming green walls. The events of the past few hours were still catching up with her, and adrenaline was still coursing through her veins, making it nigh on impossible for her to sit still. She sighed, and stood up, pacing around the room with her hands clasped behind her back. Where was everyone? She hadn't seen anyone from the team since arriving in this hospital; Lisbon had been wheeled away down corridors, doctors running alongside her; Cho and Rigsby hadn't been allowed in the ambulance and had been forced to follow in the car, so they hadn't even arrived when she got there! And as for Jane...what had even happened to him? The last she'd heard, he was in the cafeteria with Bertram, and he'd just figured out that the mole was...him. She still couldn't think his name; the betrayal was far too fresh in her mind. But surely to God Jane would be here, if only to check that Lisbon was okay! Van Pelt smiled slightly to herself as she paced; those two were so sure that no-one else knew how they felt. As if! She just prayed it worked out better for them than it had for her and Rigsby.

As if on cue, the man himself strode through her door, looking wildly around when he saw that the bed was empty. He caught sight of her standing in the corner and relief visibly washed across his face.

"Grace!" Rigsby said as he closed the distance between them. "How're you holding up?"

She shrugged. "Okay, I guess. The doctors want to keep me in for observation or something. I keep telling them: I'm fine! Okay, so I shot and killed my fiancé, but there's nothing they can do to make me feel better about that!"

Rigsby looked taken aback by this outburst and didn't really know how to respond, so he simply remained silent.

Van Pelt took a deep, calming breath, and then spoke in a normal voice. "So, where is everyone?"

Rigsby looked relieved at the change of subject. "Cho's visiting the boss. She's just got out of surgery."

"Surgery?" Grace echoed, shocked.

"Yeah. The bullet was still lodged in her, so they had to get it out. I think it went okay," he added hastily, for at the very mention of surgery Grace had looked like she was beginning to panic. "She's still unconscious, but that's just from the drugs they gave her. She'll probably be coming around soon, though."

"Right, well that settles it," Grace said, and started towards the door. When she was still a few steps away, it opened and a man wearing a white coat entered.

"Ms Van Pelt? I'm Dr. Wilson," he said, with a reassuring smile. "How are you feeling?"

Grace scowled at him. "What does it matter? You can't do anything to help me anyway." She moved to walk past him, but he side-stepped and blocked her path.

"Ms Van Pelt, I'm going to have to ask you to remain calm and just sit on the bed for me while I run some quick tests," he said, moving forward to try and force her backwards.

Grace stood her ground. "No," she said simply.

The doctor stopped in his tracks. "No?" he repeated, as if unsure he'd heard her right.

"No. I'm not going to sit here for another however many hours while you run tests for things that aren't there and try to help with something that you can't. Today I found out that my fiancé was the right-hand man of a cold-blooded murderer. Then he tried to kill my boss, and ended up wounding her so badly that she'd had to have surgery, so I shot and killed him. So, I'm sorry doctor, but unless you've got a pill that can rewind time and make all that go away, you can't help me. So I'd appreciate it if you'd just let me go." She said all of this in a calm, matter-of-fact voice, and looked him directly in the eye. He looked at her for a minute, as though making up his mind, then stepped to the side and allowed her to pass.

She nodded her thanks, and then emerged past him into the corridor, which was also painted in that sickly green colour. The smell of disinfectant reached her nostrils, and she crinkled her nose in disgust. Looking left and right, she realised that there was only one room she wanted to visit. Luckily for her, Cho was coming down the corridor to her right.

She ran up to him. "Cho, where's Lisbon's room?" she asked him in a rush.

Cho, as usual, didn't look remotely surprised by this question. "Room 312," he said, and pointed out the way to her.

"Thanks," she said breathlessly, and started to walk quickly away. Rigsby, who had followed her from the room, made to go after her, but Cho grabbed his arm and held him back.

"Let her go," he told Rigsby. "She needs to see her."


	2. Chapter 2

**Scarlet Fever****: Lisbon and Van Pelt share a moment in the hospital, post Strawberries and Cream.**

The harsh smell of illness and ammonia greeted Teresa Lisbon as she groggily sat up in her white-clad hospital bed. Immediately she groaned as a stabbing pain shot through her left shoulder, and she jerked back onto the pillow, a wave a nausea flooding her body. Blinking her eyes rapidly, she felt the crust of yesterday's mascara and frantically tried to push through the fog of sleep that clouded her head, to remember why she was lying alone in a hospital.

Before she could collect her thoughts, her door banged open and a familiar redhead stormed into the cramped room. The lack of puffy red blotches around the girl's eyes confused Lisbon. Why hasn't she cried, she thought, considering she had just been forced to shoot her traitor of a fiancé, but the beauty's words tumbled out in a sweet medley of selfless concern, "Oh my gosh Boss, how are you? Are you alright? What did the doctors say? They weren't going to let me see you but I came anyway, I was so worried." Lisbon's mouth hung open as she tried to process the several questions the pretty young agent had just asked. She spoke slowly and deliberately when she answered, trying to calm the haughty atmosphere the room had suddenly taken on. "I'll live." She said simply, before continuing "I haven't spoken to anyone yet. Van Pelt…"

The flame-haired girl held up a hand. "I'm sorry. I'm just so…tense." She took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. "I want to apologise Boss." Lisbon's brow wrinkled in confusion, and she sat up, more gently this time, to look the younger woman in the eye. "Grace? Listen to me very carefully. You have _nothing _to apologise for."

"But…" protested Van Pelt. This time it was Lisbon's turn to hold up a hand.

"No buts." she stated firmly, but her expression softened when she saw the tears threatening to spill over in Van Pelt's eyes. "Oh, Grace..." Lisbon stammered, lost for words. What could she say that would comfort the poor young girl? Helplessly, Lisbon gestured instead to the chair next to her bed, in which Van Pelt flopped gratefully, looking suddenly exhausted as the tears finally overwhelmed her, spilling silently down her porcelain skin.

Lisbon froze. She did not do well in situations like this with her own family, never mind a young girl whom, she suddenly realised; she didn't know that well despite spending every working day with her. So she did the only thing she could thing of to fill the uncomfortable silence. She leaned over and awkwardly patted the young girl's shoulder, rubbing soothing circles into the bone, like her mother had done for her when she was a little girl. The loud clock on the wall counted the many minutes the two woman stayed like that, sobs wracking a young redhead's frame while a petite brunette comforted her. The room was utterly silent, save the tiny whimpers occasionally emitting from Van Pelt.

Finally, Grace seemed to remember herself, and sat bolt upright, frantically wiped the tears from her mascara-stained face. She laughed nervously, trying to rearrange her face into the brave mask she had been wearing when she came in, but her boss saw right through her act of bravado. After all, it was Lisbon's trademark expression. "It's ok." She assured the young girl, who looked at her thankfully. "I just-" Van Pelt began, then hesitated. Lisbon's piercing green eyes probed her questioningly. The brunette nodded at Van pelt to continue. The redhead took a breath and pointed her eyes to the ceiling before continuing. "I just can't believe I fell for it. I…I _loved_ him Boss. And he _used_ me. Ugh!" she shuddered, leaning heavily back into the chair. Lisbon smiled. She wanted to say that the only reason the girl in front of her had fallen for the wrong man was because she was young, inexperienced, and naïve. But thinking of a certain incorrigible consultant, Lisbon knew that was a lie. She sighed. "Grace, sometimes, you just can't help who you fall in love with." She said wistfully.

Grace looked at Lisbon thoughtfully and murmured a vague, "Yeah, I guess." Then the rookie looked at Lisbon with a worryingly sly glint in her watery hazel eyes. "So," she began with renewed gusto, "What are you gonna do about Jane?" she asked pointedly, emphasising the word _Jane _in a way that Lisbon didn't like.

"What about him?" Lisbon choked, attempting to be coy, but she could feel the blush creeping up from her neck already. Van pelt looked at her with a deadpan expression that could've given Cho a run for his money (which he would've betted, thought Lisbon).

"I'll probably talk to the Sac P.D, see if there's any way we can find out what happened, and what his sentence'll be." Lisbon avoided eye contact with the younger agent's scrutinising gaze as she spoke nervously.

"Teresa," Van Pelt's disbelieving tone and use of her boss' first name shook Lisbon. "You know as well as I do that isn't what I meant." Van Pelt gazed straight into her boss' emerald-green eyes, all hint of humour or cheer gone from her voice. She was deadly serious.

Lisbon started. Of course she knew what Van Pelt meant, but she didn't think she had been so _obvious._ For God's sakes, could no-one have a private thought in that damn CBI? She fiddled anxiously with the cross pendant around her neck and chewed her lip as she tried to think of a way to deny that she was in love with Patrick Jane. But she knew she was beaten. However, that didn't mean she would willingly lose this battle of wits. "Hey Grace, I'm kinda tired, and I'll bet Rigby and Cho are looking for you." She stated, her implication clear. "No problem!" chirped Grace, once again cheerful, and she quickly got up and headed for the door. Lisbon panicked slightly as the young agent reached for the handle. _What if she told?_ "Hey, Van Pelt?" she called, her voice rising.

The beautiful rookie swung round and said simply, "I won't. And Boss, thanks."

Lisbon nodded, and smiled in disbelief as the door clicked shut.


End file.
